Lake Sun E-Board: Direction for Catholic Church?

QUESTION: Cardinals in the Catholic Church selected a new Pope — Pope Francis from Argentina. What do you hope this Pope will address or achieve in his tenure? Are you looking for a traditionalist or reformist? For you non-Catholics, do you think the selection of a new Pope and his leadership of the Catholic church has any bearing or relevance on Christianity as a whole?

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The Lake News Online

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Posted Mar. 16, 2013 at 9:30 AM

Posted Mar. 16, 2013 at 9:30 AM

QUESTION: Cardinals in the Catholic Church selected a new Pope — Pope Francis from Argentina. What do you hope this Pope will address or achieve in his tenure? Are you looking for a traditionalist or reformist? For you non-Catholics, do you think the selection of a new Pope and his leadership of the Catholic church has any bearing or relevance on Christianity as a whole?

Selection might never be able to undo wrongs

As a non-practicing Catholic, I'm not so sure that any selection would bring the church back from the major issue it is and has been facing for many years. That is the cover up of molestation charges. The extent the church has gone to cover up these situations from the diocese's all the way to Vatican City, has in my mind put a pallor over the church.

There have been no papal decree's coming down from any of the recent leaders of the church to take responsibility and address the issue. I will only hope and pray that this issue is addressed during this newest papacy.

Brad Mitchell

Sunrise Beach

Church isn’t keeping up with current times

I grew up Catholic but no longer practice. They say the Catholic numbers are dwindling and it’s easy to understand why: they have one huge sex scandal after another, women are still treated as second-class citizens.

I would like to see them move ahead to the current century but that seems unlikely. I don’t think this will have any relevance on anything. The Catholic church is losing credibility.

Lisa MacConnell

Linn Creek

Church needs a thoughtful leader

We need a Pope that can be a spirtual leader in the 21st century. He will need to make some lasting changes on how the church deals with priests that have allegedly abused more than just moving them around until people forget and reinstating them in another area. He will have to really think about and make policy about priests marrying, and maybe in the future with families priests can be more attuned to the real life needs of the people they lead.

He needs to come to terms that in the 21st century, Catholic women do use contraception to plan their families and that supporting that decision will lead to fewer abortions. He needs to realize that Catholics look for preaching in the gospel that applies to the world as we know it and relate that to bibical teaching, rather than just endlessly reading scriptures without practical application. I don't think the Catholic church will continue to exist as it has for centuries, without major changes, and the next pope will have a lot on his plate.